Optimize Me Nederland

Optimaliseer je leven voor veerkracht, welzijn en geluk.

In my coaching practice and training we often talk a lot about stress and flow. One thing that I discovered is that many people mistake being in ‘flow’ for actually over-stressing themselves. This isn’t too surprising since flow is a bit of a subjective and vague word. However, there is a different way of looking at flow that can help you understand what is and isn’t a true flow state. To clear up myths about flow we have to take a neurobiological perspective.

We may think of our brain as one single unit that operates our body and mind, but actually it is a little bit more complex than that. Evolutionarily, we can trace three major levels of developments that have distinct features, needs, feelings and behaviors. Understanding our brain this way can be very helpful to better understand our own complexities and behaviors. In this article I will give you a simplified but very practical way to think of the three levels of your brain and what they do. Your three different brains Paul McLean, an early (comparative) neuroscientist developed his Tri-une brain concept to describe how our brain’s evolutionary development can be roughly traced back to three major phases. These developmental phases resulted in three distinct levels: the reptilian level, the mammalian level and the primate level. Although in modern neuroscience …

It doesn’t matter if you’re fresh out of university or if you have been building your career for a while already. The questions often remain: how the heck am I going to find my passion or my true calling in life?! I certainly have struggled with this question myself in the past. But, as I discovered through repeated trial and error, there is hope! I will present you with a short guide that can help you get started to find answers.

Introduction When I work with startup founders, I often get questions on team culture. This is a classic problem in any organisation, but it seems even more so in startups since all eyes are on them to prove better ways of building a business – including building better culture. But many startup founders struggle with culture, often reverting to outdated management techniques. My perspective on working with culture is heavily influenced by a neurobiological and systems view of how humans have evolved to interact in social groups. Here you can read my five important learnings that result from both theory and practice.

I love the startup community. Like many I enjoy the taste of energy you get when you work with startup entrepreneurs. Being around them makes me feel inspired and hopeful about all the amazing creations that are waiting to emerge from their potential. This bright and optimistic side is contagious and happily shared through the many startup hubs, events and media. But there is also a darker side to the startup world that isn’t talked about all that much, at least not openly. It’s a side I get to see in my coaching work when I work with startup entrepreneurs. During my conversations with founders of high-potential startups, I have come across a phenomena I started calling ‘startup trauma’. Maybe this sounds a bit heavy to you, but allow me to elaborate.

Introduction In our day and age many of us have to deal with a growing load of information and chronic stress. Dealing with this can be very challenging and requires us to actively manage the amount of information and stress we take in each day. One very helpful resource in this can be measuring your Heart Rate Variability. Let’s take a look at what Heart Rate Variability is and how it can help you.

All living systems need boundaries. From human cells all the way up to human systems like organisations or entire countries, everything that’s alive needs boundaries to protect its functional integrity. Applying this understanding to individuals, teams and organisations is key in optimizing their functioning.

Journaling is a proven effective method for many things ranging from psychological processing to reflecting and learning from your experiences. Whether you’ve started journaling already or not, I will give you a short and simple journaling routine that’s worth a try!